The deadly coronavirus outbreak has virtually suspended all aspects of our lives. While the numbers continue to rise, laboratories across the world are scrambling to formulate a cure and a vaccine to fight against the virus. There are hydroxychloroquine manufacturers in Karnataka too.
District-Wise COVID-19 Cases In Karnataka
One of the medicines that have found its way to the spotlight is Hydroxychloroquine. India is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of this drug and many countries especially the USA are depending on the exports from India to help treat CoVid-19 cases.
What Is Hydroxychloroquine?
Hydroxychloroquine is comparable to Chloroquine, one of the best-known and oldest anti-malarial drugs. It has sought attention as a potential antiviral agent and has been used to treat a number of auto-immune diseases including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
It is prescribed in the form of a tablet to be taken orally, usually in combination with other drugs.
How Much Hydroxychloroquine Does India Produce?
India manufactures around 70% of the world’s supply of hydroxychloroquine. The country can currently manufacture 40 metric tones of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) needed to manufacture hydroxychloroquine.
This means that we can make about 200 million tablets of 200mg each. Between April 2019 and January 2020, India exported hydroxychloroquine API worth $1.22 billion.
In terms of usage, according to the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA), Indian patients are prescribed about 24 million tablets per year. These are typically used to treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
It’s interesting to note that while the IPCA, one of the main manufacturers of this drug usually supply 8 to 10 lakh strips per month, in February 2020, the company sold double this quantity.
Hydroxychloroquine Manufacturers In Karnataka
In light of the growing demand, two laboratories in Karnataka;
- the Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Limited (KAPL) in Peenya
- Embiotic Laboratories in Kumbalgodu on Mysuru Road
However, they are yet to start production as the API needed is still not available.
Hydroxychloroquine Manufacturers in India
There are 5 laboratories that currently manufacture hydroxychloroquine in India. These are:
- IPCA
- Zydus
- Microlabs
- Cipla
- Wallace
Of these, Zydus Cadila and IPCA are the major manufacturers. Given the surge in demand for this drug, these manufacturers have amped up their production.
Zydus Cadila produced around 20 crore HCQ tablets in the past month. For the next month, Zydus Cadila will manufacture API equivalent to 15 crore tablets.
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